Efficacy of antimicrobial activity of garlic extracts on bacterial pathogens commonly found to contaminate meat

Abstract

Background: Meat is a major source of food and raw materials for a number of industries, yet a lot of meat is wasted each year due to deterioration as a result of spoilage by microorganisms such as Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Moraxella, Bacillus, Campylobacter, Escherichia, Listeria, Clostridium, Salmonella and Staphylococcus species. Objective: To determine efficacy of antimicrobial activity of garlic extracts on bacterial pathogens commonly found to contaminate meat. Design: A cross sectional study. Setting: The Department of Public Health, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Nairobi. Subjects: Garlic from Nganoini farm in Laikipia County, Kenya Results: The results indicated that garlic absolute ethanol extract had the highest efficacy of antimicrobial activity inhibiting all test micro-organisms. Conclusion: Ethanolic extract can be used as a meat preservative or decontaminant.